The pressurized zone of an aircraft is demarcated by the central part of the fuselage and two pressure bulkheads. These elements are intended to support the pressure difference between the pressurized zone and the non-pressurized zone, ensuring correct air tightness without significantly varying the volume defined by them.
Additionally, pressure bulkheads must comply not only with mechanical requirements, but also with operational requirements: these elements must be able to bear pressure differences in both directions without collapsing, and they must fulfil basic aeronautical requirements, e.g., safety and light weight, as well as space allocation requirements, i.e., not using up more space than necessary and optimizing space for payload and aircraft systems.
There are different structural concepts that solve the above mentioned pressure bulkhead requirements. A common solution is the dome pressure bulkhead, which is described in many patents, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,589 A or US 2015/144736 A1. Other solutions provide for a combination of rigid supports and flexible sheets, connected in a discontinuous manner, such as the element shown in U.S. Pat. No. 8,777,160 B2.